A HIGH PREVALENCE OF OCCLUDABLE ANGLES IN A VIETNAMESE POPULATION

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of occludable angles in a Vietnamese population, Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed the angle s tatus in 482 Vietnamese patients who presented to a general ophthalmol ogy practice. All angles were graded by a glaucoma specialist accordin g to the Shaffer method, Patients were excluded if they had known glau coma or narrow angles, or a history of trauma or intraocular surgery, Results: A total of 29.5% of all patients surveyed and 47.8% of those 55 years of age or older had grade 0 to 2 angles. In the Framingham st udy, 3.8% of white patients 55 years of age or older had grade 0 to 2 angles.' Of the patients in our study population, 8.5% had grade 0 to 1 angles and were considered at high risk for occlusion, Conclusions: Vietnamese patients have a much higher prevalence of narrow angles and a greater risk of angle-closure glaucoma than white patients.